Cristiano Ronaldo (left) of Portugal celebrates scoring during the Group K match against Uzbekistan at the FIFA World Cup on June 23, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)
Cristiano Ronaldo produced a perfect response to his critics by striking twice in Portugal’s 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan in a Group K match at the FIFA World Cup, sparking heated discussions on Chinese social media on Wednesday.
The 41-year-old Ronaldo became the first player to score in six different World Cup tournaments by scoring twice against Uzbekistan on Tuesday. After the final whistle, he delivered a simple message to the camera, “I’m back,” CCTV News reported.
With those two goals, Ronaldo took his tally in World Cup finals to 10, surpassing Eusebio's nine goals to become Portugal's all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
The hashtag “C. Ronaldo becomes Portugal’s all-time leading scorer at the World Cup” topped Sina Weibo's trending list on Wednesday morning. As of Wednesday morning, the topic had generated more than 40,000 discussions and over 100 million views on Sina Weibo.
“What makes a legend is not never falling, but always rising again — stronger and more spectacular each time. Respect to Cristiano Ronaldo, a true embodiment of never giving up,” said a Weibo user from Southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
“Seeing the fans in the stands join him in doing his signature celebration was truly moving,” said another Weibo user from East China’s Fujian Province.
Ronaldo was widely criticized for his form after Portugal was held to a 1-1 draw against DR Congo during their opening group game. Meanwhile, other stars have delivered impressive performances. Lionel Messi netted twice on Monday to become the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 18 goals. French striker Kylian Mbappe, England captain Harry Kane and Norway’s Erling Haaland have all bagged brace during their group games earlier.
After the match, Ronaldo shared that he had had a difficult week, USA Today reported.
“It was a week in public opinion that was really tough on us, all the players, for me, for the manager. But it’s all good. I’ve been in this profession 23 years and when things go well, Cristiano is good. When they go badly, it’s, ‘He’s old.’ It’s always like that, but my teammates and I had a good response which is what we wanted,” he said, according to the report.
“The fact that he has played in six World Cups is remarkable in itself,” said a Weibo user from East China’s Jiangxi Province.